Finding Light in the Darkness

Tag Archives: Shooting Deaths

Sad that this has happened since such a tragic event but I believe a lot of factors are playing into this whether accidental or intentional. Sincere Smith age two found his father’s gun on the living room table in Conway, S.C. It only took him a second to perish when he pulled the trigger putting a single bullet through his chest and out his back. The father had turned away to call Sincere’s mother who was visiting a friend. The father scooped him up and rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. Now all they have is memories from that Christmas morning to remember the happy boy by. Two weeks earlier, the father had bought the .38 caliber handgun to protect his family from another potential break in. He has no answer for the national gun debate, but he wants that second back. The father Rondell Smith has had deep regret since the incident and has considered taking his own life. The saddest part of the story is the little boy died alone as police interrogated the father eventually charging him with involuntary manslaughter which his court date is set for Feb. 8. There were 28 other shootings across the U.S. on Christmas including a soldier shot in his barracks in Alaska, a man murdered in a parking lot of a bar in Orrville, Alaska, a 23 year old shot at a party in Phoenix, a L.A. County Sheriff’s employee was killed in a drive by and a 2o year old man in Louisville, Kentucky was shot after walking his sister home. The last one had posted a message on his Facebook for all his friends and former classmates that had been gunned down that day. A 10 year old in Memphis, Tennessee was fatally wounded when his brother’s gun fell off the bed the boy was jumping on and discharged when the 12 year old brother picked it up. The older brother has purchased the gun after being bullied at school. There were 41 homicides or accidental gun deaths on New Year’s Eve and 54 people died of bullet wounds on New Year’s Day. The Huffington Post traced homicides and accidents through the US since the Sandy Hook Massacre on Dec. 14. There were 100 deaths the first week after the shooting and seven weeks after there were 1,280 gunshot homicides and accidental deaths. Including police involved shootings, the total gun violence tally adds up to 1,475 shooting incidents according to Slate. The list of death, destruction and heart break for family, friends and a nation continues. When will it stop? We as a nation have the power to stop such violence from continuing but when will we unite as one voice to stop this. It is our choice not the governments or special interest…IT IS OUR VOICE THAT WILL BE HEARD. Please read the whole article to find out about the many others that have perished due to the inaction by our government and raise your voice and speak for those who have been silenced by the violence whether accidental or intentional. We all have children, grandmothers, friends, aunts, uncles, etc. Now is the time for action not for silence.